Improvement in machines for cutting fat



J. M. HUNTER. MACHINE FOR CUTTING FAT.

No. 28,179. Patented May 8,1860.-

Ewen/Z, 1 w j fwgma PATENT OFFIC J. M. HUNTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING FAT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 28,179, dated May 8,1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. M. HUNTER, of the city and county of New York, inthe State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Machine forCutting Fat preparatory to Bendering the same and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description of the constructionand operation .of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is afront elevation of the principal parts. Fig. 2 is a section on theline SS. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the trough and the feeding apparatus. Fig. 4is a section of a portion of the cutting-disk and of the means ofsharpening and of cleaning the same on a larger'scale, and Fig. 5 is aview of a portion from the rear on a larger scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.

The nature of my invention consists in slicin g the blubber of the whaleor other fat by a circular cutter or disk which is rotated and movedvertically at the same time; also, in rotating the disk by a positivemotion in one direction during the entire descent, and releasing'andallowing it to continue its motion by momentum during the returnvertical move ment; also, in combination with the means of driving, in ameans of adjusting the height of the shaft of the disk without afiectingthe other parts of the machine; also, in a form of the feeding-trough;also, in the combination of a heart-cam motion with a rack-and-pinionmotion in actuating the cutting-disk; also, in a mode of sharpening thecutting-disk.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation by the .aid of thedrawings and of the letters of ref:

erence marked thereon.

I construct a trough, A, to receive the lumps of blubber or other fat tobe sliced, and in line therewith,-and at a little distance therefrom,construct another, B, as represented. In the base of A, I mount anendless belt, a, and in the base of B a similar belt, Z, as represented.Both belts are actuated by suitable mechanism so as to move in the samedirection, and the belt a; feeds the lumps, while the belt b conveysaway the slices of fat, r, after they have been out, the cutteroperating in the small E, the latter being capable of being raised andlowered relatively to D by means of the screw F, and of being firmlyfixed thereon by means of set-screws. In this frame E, I mount a shaft,y g, with a large thin disk, G, firmly fixed on one-extremity, and asmall ratchetwheel, G, firmly fixed on the other extremity.

The disk G is sharp and thin and performs the duty of slicing the fat,being so mounted that when the frames D and E, with their attachments,are allowed to sink to their lowest positions it stands in the spacebetween A and B, so as completely to separate them; but when it iselevated by the same means it is entirely clear of said space.

I mount in suitable hearings on the side posts, 0 O, a shaft, H, whichextends across in front of the frame D. This shaftis rotated by'poweroutside of the machine and forms the medium through which my entiremachine is operated. On it I fix cams or equivalent devices, which, ateach revolution, impart, through suitable connections, an intermittentmotion to the feed-belt a and to the deliverybelt I), the belt b beingmoved with the same velocity as a, or with a different velocity,according as the connections are arranged.

The construction of this portion of the machine is analogous to thefeed-motions and delivery-motions of carding-engines and many varietiesof machines.

. I prefer to cause the belt b to travel a little faster than the belta.

I adopt any of the well-known means for tightening and adjusting mybelts a and b.

I obtain the vertical reciprocating-motion of the frame D and itsattachments directly from the revolution of H by the following means: Ifix on H two heart-shaped cams, I I,'which, as the shaft H rotates, actupon the frame D through the intervention of the small wheels or rollers01 d d d, as represented. These cams I compel the frame D, andconsequently the cutting-disk G, to rise and sink steadily or uniformly.

I mount loosely on the shaft 9 a gear-wheel, J, which meshes into afixed rack, K, and as the frame D rapidly rises and sinks this wheel Jrotates in corresponding directions, revolving with a uniform motion inone direction, while moving downward and with a similar motion in theopposite direction while moving upward. I

On the wheel J is fixed a pawl, T, and spring t, as shown in Fig. 5,which operate on the ratchet-wheel G, soas to rotate the shaft g and theattached cutting-disk in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Ifix in the opening between the belt a and the belt btwo bars, m m,extending across the trough, with their upper surfaces level, or nearlylevel, with the upper surface of the belt 0.. These bars aid insupporting the fat which is being cut, and are at such distance apartthat the cutting-disk G may work between them.

The bar m, also the bottom B of the trough B, may, if preferred, bemounted at a lower level than A and m. This may facilitate theseparation of the slices without materially affecting the action of mymachine.

I make the width of the trough B somewhat greater at the end presentedtoward the cutting-disk than the width of the corresponding end of thetrough A, and I arrange the sides of these troughs in the manner shownin Fig. 3, in order that the sliceswhich are drawnor moved to one sideby the rotary motion of G during its descent may be properly conductedupon the belt b,'to be removed.

I fix on the frame D, at the point designated, two suitable surfaces, NN, which may, by the action of the. screws a and P, be made to presswith any required degree of force on either or both sides of the disk atits edges, forthe purpose of keeping the edge in a keen cuttingcondition. The surfaces N N may be coated with emery or inlaid withbones or other suitable material of any degree of fineness desired. Asall parts of the periphery of G pass equally through the space betweenthese, the disk is thereby kept always sharp and true. These parts N Nmay extend nearly to the center of G, if desired, and may serve an ad-.

ditional purpose in clearing G from any fat which may tend to adhere toit.

It will be observed that the pawl T acts to drive the disk Gr onlyduring the descending motion and that it releases it entirely during theascending motion. It follows that the disk G is not compelled to rotatealternately in opposite directions, but is driven directly only duringthe descent of the parts, and is set free to continue its rotation bymomentum during their ascent, or to stop its rototary mo- .tion entirelyduring such period as the friction or other resistance may dictate.

By the use of the heart-shaped cams I I the motion is transmitteduniformly during the en tire descent. A crank or any other motion may besubstituted for the heartcam motion, if desired; but in such case thedisk will not receive a uniform rotatory motion during its descent, norwill it, if running very freely, receive such motion during the wholeperiod of the descent, because if the motion of'th pawl diminishes atany period it becomes ineffective by reason of the ratchet-wheel runningaway from it by its momentum. It is desirable to receive motion throughthis pawl during as long a period as possible, and the utmost is thewhole period of descent. This latter is entirely availed of by my use ofthe heartshapcd cams.

This mode of driving will usually allow the disk to rotate sufficientlyto keep itself clear and to avoid dragging up and disturbing the slices;but in case the material is in anywise difficult to work I fix the wheelGr rigidly upon the shaft 9, and thus compel the cuttingdisk G to rotatewith a positive motion in the opposite direction during its ascent.

The cost of constructing the machine and the liability to derangementare both reduced by dispensing with the ratchet and pawl 1n all cases,and driving the disk in the manner last described. Either method ofdriving the disk may be adopted in my invention, as may be desired.

Y I can modify the form of my cams more or less from the ordinary form,so as to give a continuously accelerating motion during the descent,without defeating the object of my invention; but I prefer theordinaryform for the reason, among others, that it fills the spacebetween the rollers d d in all positions of the cams and preventsrattling and uncertainty in the action.

My machine gives a very rapid drawing cut, and the machines heretoforeused for this purpose are unable to obtain these conditions to an equalextent. My machine, worked in the manner first describedgallows theknife to revolve at pleasure and clear itself of fat without compellingany positive rotatory motion on the ascent. It allows the cutter to beplaced to workat any depth required, as the disk wears away, without anyadjustment of other portions of the machine. It allows the slices tobemoved to one side by the rotation of the disk without afl'ecting theirarrangement in close contact with each other.- It compels the disk torotate with a uniform velocity during its descent, which may, byproperly, proportioning the parts, he made that which is found mostdesirable in practice and it keeps the cutting edge always keenlysharpened and very true.

Having now fully described my improved machine, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Slicing the fat by the cutter G, which is rotated and movedvertically at the same time, p

as herein set forth. 7

2. In combination with the rack K and pinion J, or their equivalents,operating G by the ratchet and pawl G T, or their equivalen s so as toact with a positive motion during the entire descent, and to release Grduring the ascent, as described, to avoid losing time and power inovercoming the momentum of the cutting-disk, and for the. purpose ofclearing it of the material without increasing the labor of operating.

3. The adjustable frame E, as herein described, in combination with thepinion J and fixed rack K, or their equivalents, for lowering the shaftg, as the disk becomes smaller, without 'afi'ecting any of the otherportions of the machine.

4.. The flaring of the trough B, as described, for the purposes hereinset forth.

J. M. HUNTER.

Witnesses THOMAS D. STETSON, WM. B. SMITH.

